Adjustable curve.



C. A. FINCH. ADJUSTABLE CURVE. APPLICATION FILED MAYZI. I914- Patented J an. 25, 1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET l.

amen/01 C. A. FINCH.

ADJUSTABLE CURVE.

APPLICATION men MAYZI. 1914. V

Patented Jan. 25, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

J @esfef me/ 1 TATE P TYN FFronf CHESTER A. .FINCH, or sronann'wnsnmeron.

ADJUSTABLE ounvnl Specification of LettersIatentQ 25, 1916.

Continuation of application Serial No. 1821 903, ,filed March .2, 19114. This application filed May 21,1914. Q

" i .Serial No.8,40,{036. i

To aZZfwhomc't nmy concern:

Be it known that I, GHESTERLA. FIN a citizen of the United States; residing at Spokane, in the county of Spokane and State of Washington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Adjustable Curves, of which the following is a specification. a

i This invention relates to improvements in instruments which have vcome to be known as adjustable curves, and the device of my invention is capable of advantageous utility in any connection and under all conditions in which instruments of this character are serviceable, this application being a continuing application, ,of ny pending -,application filed March, 2, 1914:, Serial No.182-159 08.

' to the desired curve.

It is one of the features of my, i ventio to provide an adjustable :curveinstrument with an endless resilient ruler together 1 with means connected with the endless ruler and adjustable by.theoperatortoshape the ruler It is a further object of my invention to provide adjusting means for the endless ruler which mei nsfmav be in .thefo-rm of bars adapted to be shifted with respect to i each other to flex the ruler so as to shape the same to the desired curvature.

A furtherobject is to provide baractuating means which may include a pointer adapted to center the instrument ona given i center with respect to the endless or other Ishapedto draw a true circle.

curved line to be drawn.

Other features and ob ects of the invention will be morefullydescr bed 1n connection with the accompanying drawings and will bemore particularly pointed, out and trating a reverse curvature adjustment.

Fig. l, is a sectional view on line 4; & of

Fig. 3.

on line 6-6 ofFig. 3. Fig. 7, is. asectional view on line 7-4? of Fig. 3.

(pl/a l rhasae ersea of an instrumentembodying one form Fig. 2, is a Fig. 5, 13 a sectional viewion line 55 of Fig. 4:. Fig.6, IS a sect onal VlBW' rack bar is-provided with a feather projecting downwardly from the base thereof and one ofs'uch feathers'is shown in Fig. 6, for bar 2, as :indicatechatlfi, it beingunde'rstood that bar 3 is provided with ailike feather, as shown in dotted lihe inFig; 1.

Centrally of the instrument I provide means for. guiding and shifting and also looking the :bars 2 .and 3, :said means being shown more particularly in Fig. 4. As illustrated, said meansincludes .a frame having a base portion '7 which is grooved at 8 andv9 toreceive the ;feathers of the bars-2 and 3. An :upper IHQIIlbGIjlO, of the frame, is provi dedwith depending sides 11 and '12 which are adapted to rest upon the base frame member 7', and'be fixed thereto by means suchcas rivets 13 and 14.1; Centrally of the frameldispose a pinion 15jfor mesh engagement with the rack teeth 4.- and 5 so that when the pinion;15;is;rotated it will impart shifting movement to the rack bars 2 and '3 is-unison and in opposite direction. Means is provided for locking the bars 2 and 3 in adjusted positions and as shown said means may-eomprise a set screw 16 threaded into,

perm t ng rotation o the sp d e th n-x V i The spind mi stated s bored at ,21, to provide' afshoulder 22, the

purposeof whichlwill presently appear. A

centering stem 23 is longitudinally movable in the spindle 17 and is provided at one end with a pointed terminal 24' and at its" other end with a removable thumb grip 25. A

collar 26 is fixed on the pointer stem mate:

tween. the collar26, and. the shoulder22 lis interposed a'spring'27 to normally hold the pointer: stem .23. inithe position shown.- "In order to limitmovement of the pointer stem 23, upwardly, I provide a stop which may be iii-the formof a collar 28'whi'ch may be threaded into th Spindle 171 v By means of the foregoing construction, thev pointer stem '23 maybe shifted downwardly so as to thrust the pointed terminal 24 into a given or selected'center about which 7 h curve is to b drawn so that the stem 23 may function as a centerspotter. V I Theadjustingmem'bers or bars 2 and 3 i r are "not directly connected with the ruler 1 but are connected therewith through the in terpositionof guiding blocks which I will now describe in detail. One of said'blocks is indicated at 28and the other at 29. :Bar 2' is connected rigidly With block 28 and 'slidably with block29and bar 3 is connected rigidly with bl0ck'29 and is 'slidably con 30 nected with block 28. In View of the fact that both blocks are similar'in construction only oneneedbe describedin detailyand reference" will be made more particularly to Figs. 6 and 7.

'7 bar 3-is fixed to .block29 by being seated in The feather on bar 3 as will be seen more particularly by reference to Fig. 1, does'not extend to'cblock 29, or to that end of bar 3 which is secured 'to'block29, and therefore a suitable recess or mortise in said block, as shown in Fig. 7 A rivet 30 extends through block 29 and bar '3 and through aretaining strip 31 which is disposed transversely of block 29,; Bar'3 may be additionally secured by a rivet 32 which is disposed at one side' of ri vet 30. The retaining.strip*31 is addi tion'ally anchored by a rivet 33 whichextends through block 29 and which secures a locatinglpoint element 34 having a pointed 5O terminal '35. The locatingpoin't element 7 34 is likewise seatedin a recessed or m0r-- tised bottom portion of the block 29. Said retainingstrip 31 extends across in overlapp'ingrelation with adjusting bar 2 and is 'ur'ther secured to block 29 by a rivet 35.

The feather 60f bar 2 projects'intoa feather:

way 36 o'fblock29as-will be clearly seen 7 by reference to Fig. 7. It will thus be seen that adjustingrack bar 3 i sjfixed to block 60 29and adjusting ra'ckbar 2. is slidably C011. nectedwith block 29in such a manneras to the curve form is an arc. V Y46 and 47are useful in marking a curve so as to determine the next ad ustment of the Block 29 issecuredto the resilient ruler 1 i and inorder to permit of "the adjustment" shown in Fig. 2, I convergethe outer end ofblock 29, as indicatedat37. At the apex of "said" block I provide a screw 38 which extends through an opening in the "ruler linsuch a manner asto connect the latter with the'block 29 and also permit of the difierent adjustments shown. To prevent rupturei of the resilient ruler, I :may round the inner face of the head 38 so as to permit of the adjustment shown in Fig. 3.

Block 28 is providedwitharetaining" strip 39 wliich is secured in place by rivets40 and 41. Rivet 41 serves to hold a locating point element42 similar to that indicated at 35. The retaining strip 39'slidably connectsbar 1 3' with block 28 and I rigidly secure block 2 to block .28 by means of a rivet 43' and a rivet 44, the latter serving to secure the re-- taining strip 39 to block 28." Block 28 is connected with ruler-1 by a screw 45 in;a

mannersimilar to the connection 1 with block 29. Y It willbeseenby referenceto Fig. 4 that the central adjusting frame means is 10- of ruler cated somewhat above the bottom the spindle 17, tl'1ereby disposing the bars 2 and 3 appreciably-above the'surface of the drawing board. Blocks 28 and 29 likewise serve to correspondingly elevate'bars 2 and 3 but the rulerl, as will be seenmore particuinsuch a manner as toliecloseto the'drawmg surface. By this arrangement, I dispose the bars 2 and 3 above the rulerl so larly in Fig. 6, is connected with the blocks that the bars can'be'shifted witho'ut-interference with the hang the latter. 3

As illustrated in Fig.2, the bars 2 and 3 may bevgraduated, as at 46 and 47, so as to provide' for a reading abreast of the retaining strips 31 and.39,;whereby'the instruruler because they over ment may be used as a computator, or"toindicate the diameter of the circle of which The graduations instrument. Suppose that a curve had been drawn on an adjustment where the block31 registers atnumeral'fi on bar 2, or where l the block 39 registers with numeral 9 on bar '3, then such c'urvewould be marked 6,01 9, as the case might be, on the draw ing- The draftsman could then have a reference for again adjusting theinstrument to thesame curvature at a subsequent time. This is only one I of the many utilities I of these graduatedportions. I In this form of y the inventiointhe central frame and also'the' end block frames are connected, withthe bars '2 and 3.1nsuch amanner as to at'all termined. relation, which as" shown, is;a

parallel*relatioirwith respect each "other.

times :niainta'in thefbars, in absolute prede-= means I j The tunctionmf the locating points and 4:2, is to indicate the location of-th'e diameter olithe-cn'cl e of which the'curveto be drawn is airarc". As an exampleofon'e utility of the locating POIDtS 35 and 4:2,

it may be stated that intersecting vertical and horizontaldines are generally fdrawn and the locating points are broughtinto registry with the horizontal linesso as to properly' locate" the instrument for drawing the curve desired. In this event, the pointflel would be disposed at the intersection of the vertical and horizontal lines. is only one of the many utilities of my improved locating points.

It is believed that the advantages and utility of my invention will be clearly'understood from the foregoing description and while I have herein shown and described one specific form of my invention, I do not wish to be limited thereto except for such limitations as the claims may import.

I claim 1. In. an adjustable curve instrument of the class described, an endless resilient onepiece ruler, bars connected with said ruler, and means for shifting said bars with respect to each other to causesaid ruler to assume the desired curve, substantially as described.

2. In an adjustable curve instrument of the class described, an endless resilient ruler, bars for shifting said ruler to cause the same to assume the desired curve, a guide frame engaging said bars between their ends, means between said bars and mounted in said frame for shifting said bars with respect to each other to shape said structure to the desired curve, and devices slidably connected with said bars on opposite sides of said frame for coaction therewith to hold said bars in predetermined relation with respect to each other, substantially as described. I

8. In an adjustable curve instrument of the class described, an endless resilient ruler, blocks pivoted to said ruler, adjusting bars having the alternate ends fixed and slidably connected with said blocks, and means between said blocks for shifting said bars to shape said ruler to the desired curve, sub stantially as described.

l. In an adjustable curve instrument of the class described, an endless resilient ruler, blocks pivoted to said ruler, adjusting bars each having one end rigidly connected with one block and its other end slidably connected with the other block, and means for shifting said bars to shape said ruler to the desired curve, substantially as described.

5. In an adjustable curve instrument of the class described, an endless resilient ruler, adjusting bars, devices pivoted to said ruler and connected with said bars to. hold the Of course this ruler to the desired curve,

latter "in parallel. "relation with respect to '16. In an adjustable curve instrument of the "class described, an. endless resilientruler,

barsfdevices pivoted to said ruler andal ternately fixedly and slidably connected with said bars to hold the latter in parallel relation with respect to eachother, and

means for shifting said bars to shape said ruler to the desired curve, substantially as described.

7. In an adjustable curve instrument of the class described, an endless resilient ruler,

bars, devices connected with said ruler and with said bars to hold the latter in parallel relation with respect to each other,

and means for shifting said bars to shape said substantially as described.

8. In an adjustable curve instrument of the class described, a resilient ruler, blocks pivoted to said ruler, adjusting bars having their alternate ends fixed and slidably connected with said blocks, and means for shifting said bars .to shape said ruler to the desired curve, substantially as de scribed.

9. In an adjustable curve instrument of the class described, a, resilient ruler, bars, devices pivoted to said ruler and connected with said bars to hold the latter in parallel relation with respect to each other, and means for shifting said bars to shape said ruler to the desired curve, substantially as described.

10. In an adjustable curve instrument of the class described, a resilient ruler, means connected with said ruler to shape the same to the desired curve, rotative mechanism for operating said means, and centering means movable axially with respect to said r0- tating mechanism, substantially as described.

11. In an adjustable curve instrument of the class described, a resilient ruler, means connected with said ruler to shape the same to the desired curve, rotative mechanism for operating said means, and spring controlled centering means movable axially with respect to said rotative mechanism, substantially as described.

12. In an adjustable curve instrument of the class described, a resilient ruler, adjusting rack bars for shaping said ruler to the desired curve, a frame engaging said bars, a

pinion meshing with said bars, a sleeve spindle rotatable in said frame and fixed to said pinion, and a centering stem movable axially in said spindle, substant1ally as described.

13. In an adjustable curve instrument of the class described, a resilient ruler, adjusting bars, blocks connected with said ruler and with said bars and provided with 10- eating points, and shifting mechanism for said bars disposedbetweep said blocks and r the latter above said ruler, substantially as includingcentering means, substantially as described;

described. r V- In testimony whereoflaffix my signature l4.- In anadjustable curve instrument of in presence 0f two Witnesses. I a 5 the class described, a"resilient ruler, ad- I CHESTER A FINCH.-' justing bars therefor, blocks connected with Witnesses: v g saidruler and with said bars to support the, HAROLD SOANTLEBURY,

former adjacent the drawing surface and I E. FINCH.

'Gppiesqf this p ec entmaj be obtained forfive eents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Pat ents, i Washington, D. G. a 

